The Dow was flat yesterday… Gold went nowhere, too. The yellow metal trades at $1,235 an ounce at writing. Let’s see what Larry Summers has to say. We always appreciate Summers. His mind is razor-sharp – always cutting straight to the wrong conclusion. “Why stagnation might prove to be the new normal,” is the headline of his piece in Monday’s Financial Times. Summers has done it again. Whatever may be said about today’s cockeyed economies, there is nothing “normal” about them.

Tomorrow is the big day. Investors are on the edges of their seats, waiting to find out what the Fed will do. Taper? No taper? Or maybe it will taper on the tapering off? Our guess is the Fed will not commit to a serious program of reducing its support to the bond, equity and housing markets. It’s too dangerous. Ben Bernanke – the man who didn’t see the housing crash coming – won’t want to see the stock market collapse just before he leaves office. He’ll want to go out on a high note… and that means guaranteeing more liquidity.

US stock benchmarks were flat on Friday. Too many office parties. Too many distractions. Too many investors with no clue. “Is the news good or bad?” they asked. “Is that good or bad for asset prices?” Having no good answer, they let the week pass without showing much conviction one way or another. So let’s move on… The problem with most people is that they aren’t cynical enough. A little more distrust… or at least suspicion, combined with sneering contempt… would help them understand how things work.

Today, a recommendation from a local stock market analyst in Brazil… on what could be one the world’s best-value commodity plays. But first, a look at yesterday’s market action… The Dow fell 104 points. But gold really got socked. It fell $32 an ounce… as “taper” fears once again began to stalk the market. What does it mean? It’s a question we’ve been asking at Bonner & Partners Family Office, the small family wealth advisory we set up back in 2009.

Dow down 129. Gold down $3 an ounce. No big deal. Good thing, too, because we don’t have much time to think about it. We’re on the road… in Brazil. At Bonner & Partners Family Office, the small family wealth advisory we set up in 2009 to help families protect and pass on wealth, we’re bullish on emerging markets stocks in general… and bearish on developed market stocks in general. That’s because we’re long-term investors. And the long-term growth prospects – to our eyes at least – are better in the emerging world… where populations are still growing… debt build-ups aren’t as high… and relatively low market capitalizations for stock markets mean more room for growth.

The Dow fell 52 points yesterday. Gold was up $26 an ounce. Good news? Bad news? Bad news as good news? Good news as bad news? Bad news as good news as bad news? GDP is growing faster than expected. So the Fed will taper, right? But GDP growth is largely an illusion because it is mostly unsold products stacking up on shelves. Bad news means the Fed won’t taper, right? So, it’s good news after all. Or is it…? Aw, shucks… we don’t know. So, we’ll turn to something else. “What’s the outlook for Brazil?” we asked our colleague Rodolfo Amstalden of Empiricus Research in Sao Paulo.